you have witchcraft in your lips
by chylersilva
Summary: I'm no good at story summaries. This is Lola/Bash with Frary, mostly from Lola's perspective. Inner dialogue exploration and slow burn development. Begins with the events of 1x08 and 1x09 and will most likely be going in a different direction from there, although I might take bits and pieces from upcoming episodes. Also posted at Ao3. This is not beta'd!
1. Running Away

As she made the agonizing walk through the castle to her chambers, Lola felt as though she could hardly breath. In this instance, it wasn't the corset constricting around her waist that she could blame. It was the pain, the pain of the loss she was feeling so keenly right when she'd begun to have hope she wouldn't lose anyone else. Just earlier this same day they had all been celebrating. Of all the people she knew in life, why did it have to be the one so far removed from the darkness in this court? She found herself picking up pace as she moved, the desire to run building, but her rational instincts kept her at a brisk walk. Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks. Fresh air, that's what she needed. She turned swiftly in her heels, curls of hair swinging. She sped towards the nearest exit as though it would somehow fix everything.

She was three steps onto the grass when she stopped him in the near distance, hovering near the stables. The girl had hardly registered a thought before she found herself calling out his name. "Sebas- Bash. I…Aylee," she could get no further words out in this moment, but he needed no more details to understand. In seconds the space between them disappeared and she promptly found a place between his arms. The tears she'd thought had finished continued, bleeding into the fabric of the bastard's tunic. No words passed between them as she felt the prior feeling of suffocation roll off of her in small waves. After minutes that seemed much longer, Lola slowly pulled away from the embrace. Their eyes locked as she still struggled to form words. When she finally broke the silence, her voice was somber but no longer shaking.

"I should get back. To Mary…the others." He seemed thoughtful for a moment, as though determining choice words. He considered telling her. Explaining that for reasons she doesn't want to know, he's leaving, doesn't know when he'll come back. It somehow seems like less of a betrayal that way, to at least give a grieving lady notice of his departure. A lady he considers a friend. But also one whom he's grown fond of in a way he doesn't completely understand yet. But instead he simply nods, eyes burning into her pale complexion and pained expression, knowing this will be the last time they meet for an undetermined length of time. "We'll meet again soon," he replies quietly, the lie leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

It isn't until later that she learns the truth. She understands Mary's decision to leave. It seems the only viable option in this worst case scenario they've found themselves entrapped within. Francis returns the complete picture of heartbreak and delivers the news that not one but two significant members of their court have left together on this day. Bash and Mary, run away together. She feels she should have seen it coming. His infatuation with her queen had been obvious to Lola from the start. But the suddenness of his absence strikes her in a way she hadn't expected. She was now short two of the few people in this court she felt she could trust. Francis seemed convinced this was an indication of something between the two of them, his betrothed and his brother. Given previous events, Lola could understand his point, but she knew Mary's true motivation for escape. What was her brave companion's?

All would reveal itself in due time.


	2. Standing Still

**Note:** Thank you for the reviews, follows and favorite so far! I feel like I'm starting to get into the swing of things with this, but I'm not quite at the pace I want yet so hopefully it'll improve! I do have juicy things in store for upcoming chapters. xx

Everything was happening so quickly.

Mary and Bash had only been back at the court for what seemed like moments and now they were to be wed. Bash is to be legitimized. There were about a thousand things running about Lola's mind causing a ruckus. Her priority would be her queen. She cared for no one in this castle more than her friends and this was something none of them had really prepared for. She had to protect Mary. Now more than ever, Catherine was likely to try something drastic. Mary's plan had to work, and Lola was going to help ensure Mary and Bash's union goes off without any really damaging roadblocks.

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling deep down that this wasn't right. She didn't want this at all. There was no time for that, though, to have doubts. To have feelings she hadn't quite been aware of until now and to let them impede her duties as a lady-in-waiting to Scotland's queen in any way.

Lola was gliding through the corridors at the speed of her thoughts when she rounded a corner and quite literally collided into the leading man of all those troubles. "Oh! I'm so sorry," she shook her head in embarrassment as he offered his arm to help her steady herself. The contact suddenly reminded her of the embrace they'd shared prior to his departure. She'd felt something then too, but wasn't sure what.

"Goodness, I wasn't paying any attention to my surroundings- oh, but wait, should I be calling you your majesty now?" The question slipped, out a mixture of jest and actual concern. This was their first real encounter since his return, and she couldn't help but to wonder how his new position would change their friendship. They all knew it was going to change everything.

"Don't worry, I won't have you locked away for endangering the future king's life. You already helped to save it once, after all." The casual manner in which he spoke provided no sign of the turmoil his life was currently facing, but his expression grew slightly more somber a moment later. "I do suppose I'm going to have to get used to being addressed in such a formal manner though."

She wondered exactly how he was adjusting. To go from the King's bastard to the next in line for French succession overnight was certainly not something to be taken lightly. Not to mention the part where he was now set to wed the queen who had previously been his brother's betrothed.

"I hardly think reading a few Norse myths at your bedside qualifies as life saving." Despite everything, she spoke with a smile. He still had a knack for It was a fond memory she held, the time she'd spent helping nurse him back to health. That was when she realized that perhaps the bastard known as Bash could be someone she counted as a friend. Now look at them. So much had changed in such little time. The young lady tilted her head, curls swaying, as she attempted to get a read on him. His response was a small chuckle, one that seemed out of place within the sad castle walls but that she was glad to hear regardless.

"Do you think you're ready?" Finally the question spilled from her lips, curiosity getting the best of her, fueled by desire to decipher this this whole arrangement and how it made her feel. How her feelings were related to his own was a topic she didn't feel ready to address with herself just yet. She wondered briefly if she'd said the wrong thing when Bash was quiet for a few long seconds, but then he was looking her in the eyes and she almost felt she had an answer from just that alone. "I don't know if I'm ready. I don't know if I would be, even I'd had all of Francis' grooming. But I'll have to be. No matter if it means..."

His words trailed off. She was about to implore him to continue when she saw his gaze move behind her and she saw that a page was approaching. "My liege, King Henry is requesting you come to him before his departure." With that, the tension seemed to dissipate and when Bash turned back to her his trademark smirk was back in place. He nodded towards her, leaning in the slightest, enough to make her realize just how close he was. "Until next time, m'lady."

Lola watched his retreating form, wondering when that next time would be. She finds herself heading to Greer's chambers. Her most prudent friend always had a way of putting things into perspective. But then again, she felt fairly certain said friend was also keeping something from them all. She'd been gone long spans of time, especially in Mary's absence, claiming that she'd gotten lost in a book from the library or that she'd been popping down to the kitchens for a snack. Lola had to wonder what else she was getting lost in. But today, she mostly just hoped she would be in her room for once.

"Greer, are you here? It's Lola." The words accompanied two rapid knocks after which the door swung ajar. She could tell from a first glance at her friend that she hadn't been in her room for long. She was fully dressed and there was a twinge of pink in her cheeks that signaled something more than just an ordinary walk about the castle. Their talk began lighter in nature, but soon it ventured into the belly of the beast they were all currently battling.

"Do you think it will work?" Lola asks, referring to the plan and all its precarious components. The Pope agreeing to Bash potentially being legitimized, hopefully avoiding a full French rebellion in the process, and of course the marriage itself. Greer responds with a shrug of the shoulders, brow raised. "Oh, I've given up trying to predict anything that happens here by now. We just have to make sure Mary gets through it." They were in agreement about that. It was obvious to anyone who knew her like they did that while their Queen put on a strong front, she was likely crumbling on the inside. For the sake of their friend, Lola felt it was their duty to pick up any pieces that may fall. Even if she didn't feel entirely together herself, these days.


End file.
